Bach: Natal is a “midlife kicker” for 360

Head of E&D at Microsoft Robbie Bach has told TechFlash that Natal is seen as a “midlife kicker” for Xbox 360.

Speaking in an interview with the site, a day after he and fellow Xbox chief J Allard announced they were to quit the company, Bach said it’d be a “holy grail” for the fact it can provide “a new experience for people without shipping a new console.”

“Well, I think initially it presents a great opportunity for us on Xbox,” he said. “You know, if you think we have, what, close to 40 million consoles in the world, and every one of those consoles can work with Natal. So, there’s a tremendous opportunity from a business perspective to produce a new experience for people without shipping a new console.

“I mean, that’s sort of the Holy Grail in many ways of the console world is how do you ship completely new game experiences without actually forcing everybody to start over again, and I think Natal certainly presents that opportunity.”

He went on to add: “So, for me it’s a jumpstart catalyst. It’s a midlife kicker for the 360, and it’s an opportunity to really drive that business in a dramatic way.”

Much more on Natal is expected to be announced at its special event at E3 in two-and-a-half weeks time on June 13.